Never mind the better competition - the red-hot Red Sox kept rolling Tuesday, winning their ninth straight while administering a beating to their rivals, the New York Yankees, with a 14-1 victory.
The Sox were already comfortably ahead 5-1 when they posted a nine-run inning in the sixth against the New York bullpen, somewhat aided by an error from third baseman Miguel Andujar, resulting in six unearned runs. Mookie Betts capped a 4-for-4 night that inning with a grand slam, the second for the Sox in the last three games after going all of last year without one.
The top three hitters in the lineup combined for eight hits, eight runs and nine RBI.
Chris Sale picked up his first win of the season with six innings, during which the only run off him was a titanic homer into the center field bleachers by Aaron Judge. Sale didn't walk a batter and struck out eight.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Yankees
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Chris Sale (0-0, 0.82) vs. RHP Luis Severino (2-0, 1.38)
WHAT'S UP: This is the first meeting of the year between the clubs. The Sox bring an eight-game winning streak into the opener and have the best record in the American League. Their 8-1 record represents the best start in franchise history. This will be the Sox' best test to date, having fattened up on a steady diet of the Rays and Marlins. The Yankees (5-5) are in third place, 3.5 games behind the first-place Sox. The rivals will square up 19 times over the course of the season. Last year, the Yankees won the season series 11-8. This season also marks the first time since 1992 that both the Red Sox and Yankees have first-year managers at the same time.
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
9:34: Quite the night for Mookie Betts: two doubles, a single, a walk and a grand slam with five runs scored (a career best) and four RBI.
9:20: The first three hitters in the Sox lineup -- Betts, Benintendi and Hanley -- are a combined 7-for-7 with four wakls, seven runs scored and five RBI tonight.
9:03 Sale at 87 pitches after six. Given the score and temperature, I'm guessing that might be it.
8:46: It may take a while before anyone hits a ball that far and that hard. Aaron Judge got ahold of a 93 mph and crushed it into the CF bleachers, measured at 444 feet with an exit velo of 114 mph
8:34: Benintendi continues to have good at-bats tonight. After pulling a ball into the right field corner for a triple in his second at-bats, he takes a pitch the other way and swats it off the wall for a double.
8:07: Aaron Judge, who came into the game hitless in his career against Sale, has two singles in two trips. But it's not begun well for Giancarlo Stanton, who has never faced him until tonight. Two at-bats, and two strikeouts, with three baserunners left.
7:56: That's the best swing J.D. Martinez has taken in a while - driving a 98 mph four-seamer the other way, to the warning track in right where Aaron Judge made the catch a few feet in front of the visitor's bullpen.
7:50: Andrew Bennintendi, with just his second extra-base hit of the season, turns on a slider down in the zone and ropes it into the right field corner. Sox lead 3-0.
7:42: Yankees are being aggressive early in the count with Chris Sale, but it's not doing them much good. He's stayed out of the middle of the plate and induced some weak contact.
7:32: Red Sox let Severino off the hook. Boston had the bases loaded with one out, but Eduardo Nunez popped out to first and Jackie Bradley Jr. fanned, leaving three baserunners on.
7:20: Good at-bat by Hanley Ramirez who stayed on a slider from Luis Severino and drove it up the middle to score Mookie Betts from second. That's nine RBI in 10 games for Ramirez.
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Ramirez 1B
Martinez DH
Devers 3B
Nunez 2B
Bradley CF
Vazquez C
Holt SS
YANKEES
Walker 2B
Judge RF
Stanton LF
Sanchez DH
Gregorius SS
Austin 1B
Andujar 3B
Romine C
Robinson CF
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Xander Bogaerts, on the DL with a small fracture in his talus bone in his left ankle and is still unsure exactly how it happened. The injury took place as Bogaerts was scurrying after a ball headed for the visitor's dugout. He went into a slide, but didn't jam the ankle. And yet, he experienced some pain when he tried to get up. "I think,'' said Bogaerts, "we all assume it happened when I was in their dugout. But I have no idea how it happened or anything like that.'' Bogaerts is unsure when he'll return, but said typically he's a quick healer. "I am (in some pain) right now, walking-wise,'' he said. "It's getting better as these couple of days have passed and that's obviously a huge plus. We'll just continue with the training staff and try to get it better.'' Bogaerts, who was off to a great start, doesn't want his absence to take away from how well the team is playing. "It's just 'next guy up' can come in and do their part,'' he said.
- Alex Cora said he will use a combination of Eduardo Nunez, Brock Holt and Tzu-Wei Lin to cover shortstop as Bogaerts recovers. "We're going to be fine,'' assured Cora. "We'll take it on a daily basis. We're not worried about that. As a group, with the (analytics) information being provided and putting guys in place, they're going to make plays. Obviously, Xander's an elite shortstop, but we're not going to push him. Hopefully he recovers sooner rather than later. But we're going to move on, we have to keep playing. For the period of time that he's away, we're going to be comfortable with whoever is playing short.''
- Cora fessed up to a managerial blunder from Sunday. With the Sox leading Tampa 8-7 in the ninth inning, he should have replaced J.D. Martinez in left field for defensive purposes. "I'm going to be honest with you,'' said Cora with a sheepish grin. "We scored six runs (in the eighth) and we were so excited about it, the manager missed that one.'' Cora was later asked why he was so candid about his flub. "Why lie? It happens. Everybody saw it. I ask our guys to be genuine, transparent and responsible. So, if I'm asking them to be that way, well, I better be that way. Because if I say something else, they know I'm telling the truth.''
- Cora said that there could be instances when Lin could take over for either Nunez or Holt late in games when the Sox have the lead. "Depending on where we're at, the score...that's something (we'll probably do),'' he said. "I told you guys, I feel like he could play shortstop, defensively, for a championship-caliber team. He's that good. I know we had a good one (in Deven Marrero, traded to Arizona because he was out of option) and we did what we did. But we're very comfortable with (Lin) late in games. It all depends on where we are in the game. ''
- Dustin Pedroia ran the bases prior to the game and will travel to Fort Myers to take part in extended spring training. "If you talk to him, he's almost there,'' cracked Cora. "But we're going to take it easy with him. It's a good step, but it will be better for him to go to Fort Myers with the weather and the controlled environment.''
- Drew Pomeranz will start Friday for Portland with the hope that his command will improve. He walked six while pitching for Pawtucket over the weekend.
- Tyler Thornburg remains in Fort Myers, and according to Cora, hit 95 mph Monday. "But he's still on his (throwing) progression,'' said Cora. "The changeup isn't there yet or the off-speed pitches. But to see his velocity get there, that's a good sign. He'll be in Fort Myers with the extended program and we'll make a decision probably at the end of the week.''
- For now, LHP Brian Johnson and RHP Hector Velazquez remain available in the bullpen, but one will be needed Saturday to start against the Orioles. "We'll see how it goes the next few days and who we use or don't use and we'll go from there,'' offered Cora. "We'll probably have to make a decision (Wednesday).''